Even though he did receive a fair warning from the writers' room (which he proudly declares is "the best in the business"), Chris says that tapping into Toby's darker side was not easy for him on a personal level — he even goes as far as calling it his "greatest challenge" yet.

"Getting into the anxiety and depression of the character is hard. It’s a hard place to live as an actor, because it’s hard to keep those emotions from drifting into your own well-being," Chris explains. "It’s involved a lot of self care and re-cooperating after long stretches of that."

So far, there have been plenty of "long stretches" of Toby struggling in season 3. As fans can recall, this season's premiere kicked off with Toby flushing his antidepressants down the toilet in hopes of it helping Kate's chances of getting pregnant. After that, Toby spirals into a depressive state and, at one point, breaks down crying in the couple's kitchen. With so many hard-to-watch scenes like that, it's no wonder that Chris had a tough time, as he says, "grinding himself back into reality."

"I just kind of try to leave work at work, and be present in the moment. But it doesn't always work," he says.

Alas, Chris says that the pain is all necessary in telling a story that's truthful and honest, and "building a foundation for what life can look like." You wouldn't get that if Toby was able to laugh off every problem with a clever quip.

"You know, the first season and a half, I thought he [Toby] was kind of a one-sided character. Always upbeat and positive and all these things," Chris begins. "Sure enough, the writers gave us the other side of him. It’s been really helpful to kind of understand both of his sides, because everybody has them."

Although Chris has spent much of his time recently exploring Toby's "other side" in front of the camera, the mood on set is not always somber and emotional. On the contrary, Chris is actually known to many as the resident jokester of the cast. When asked about how he felt that so many of his co-stars had labeled him as "the funniest guy" in the crew, he couldn't help but feel flattered. Chuckling to himself, he revealed that Jon Huertasin particular "is my personal favorite," largely because he likes to "keep it light." Justin Hartley is right behind Jon in the humor department.

"The overall vibe in our company, is that Dan Fogelman has gathered not only a group of people who are very good at their job, but enjoy their job very much. And enjoy each other very much," Chris says.

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And when he says that, he means everyone. From the hair and makeup departments to the camera crew, directors, and costume team, Chris makes it clear that he relishes talking with each and every one of the This Is Us production squad. They're all “funny and open-hearted people,” he says, as is his co-star Chrissy Metz.

"She’s a really connected and grounded individual. It’s makes working with her really easy. She always shows up super prepared, and you know, regardless of what we have to shoot that day — whether it’s light or heavy or intense – she’s always a joy to be around."

Outside of work, you might catch Chris and his wife Rachel Reichard out on the town with Mandy Moore and her husband Taylor Goldsmith. But there's one place you probably won't be seeing much of Chris: social media.

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While he does have Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, his team helps run them all, since he prefers to "steer pretty clear" of what goes on there.

"I try to keep away from scrolling through comments or things like that. I haven’t quite gotten in control of my negativity bias," Chris spills. "You’ll have 100 good comments, and if there’s one negative one that slips in there, that comment [will] be the only one I remember ... still working on that for myself."

Nevertheless, he still very much appreciates the fandom surrounding the show, and the great impact it's had for the 10+ million people who tune in every Tuesday night to watch.

"As the show gets more and more specific ... for whatever reason, it reaches a bigger audience," Chris says. "The specificity allows people different ways into the show.”

And in season 4, Chris doesn't see that changing at all. We may have seen multiple phases of Chris's character by now — Toby as a husband, Toby as a brother-in-law, and Toby as a man battling depression. But there's so much more to explore. Apart from seeing where Kate and Toby's journey as new parents will take them as "their lives get pulled in a different direction," Chris has other plot lines on his mind.

"I’d love to know a lot more about Toby and his brother. It was mentioned in season 2, and it seems to be tenuous, so that seems like it would be an interesting place to go," Chris reasons. "[And then] I’d like to see him getting closer with Rebecca, probably. Because they’ve had their moments over the past couple seasons.”

More immediately, the season 3 finale, he says, will be one to remember. He won't spill anything specific about it, but if he had to describe it in one sentence, he says, "It’s going to be hard, but it should be satisfying."

Let's hope he is right.

Kayla KeeganNews EditorKayla Keegan is the news editor at GoodHousekeeping.com who covers all things in the entertainment, pop culture, and celebrity space.

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